Forum:Late Entries
Posted by: Capi3101 15:24, August 19, 2011 (UTC) Howdy all. As is noted on the wiki's main page, WCRPG's core rules went to print on the 14th of May in 2013. Part of my original plan for the game was to include fan-built and community-built creations, which were to be added to the Non-Canonical Vehicle, Non-Canonical Capital Ship and (later on) the Who's Who chapters. The non-canonical chapters were a feature of my previous RPG system, Starflight RPG, and it was my opinion that their inclusion not only added to the game and confirmed its viability as a role-playing system, but also spoke volumes about the dedication and remaining level of interest of the community itself. I had hoped to do the same with Wing Commander, but as I had not established myself as deeply in the WC community and owing to the much faster development cycle that WCPRG underwent, I didn't receive as large of a response prior to the game going to print. I have since had a few folks share their contributions with me and make suggestions for side-projects, and I've done my best to get those contributions added to the site (hence the Killer Capship and Holding the Line pages). There have been a few, however, that wouldn't really fit anywhere other than the aforementioned chapters of the Core Rules and with the ongoing hiatus on the manufacture of new hardcopies at this point I'm loathe to change them, at least unless and until that situation changes. I've been sitting on these excellent contributions, and that situation needed to change. So today I'm creating this page to accommodate those materials. Y'all may consider this page as the initial development of "Annex One" or whatever final name I come up with - for now I'm okay with the name of "Late Entries". This page is for anything and everything, and I'll be dividing it up accordingly. I'll kick it off with what I've got (a couple of vehicles; I have a couple of characters that need work plus an idea I've been bandying about for a while now) and we'll go from there. If you have a contribution you'd like to make to this page, post it below in the "New Submissions" section below and I'll make sure it gets to where it needs to go. capi Capi3101 (talk) 09:55, December 5, 2014 (UTC) New Submissions None right now... Correction to Chapter 2.3 Creating Characters :Regarding Section - Add any additional "finishing touches". *'Height:' This is an indication of the character's "long dimension" (see Chapter 10.2.7). Along with the character's weight and the character's physical Attributes, this little factoid helps to indicate the character's overall build. Height can be determined via the die roll indicated in the character's race profile. After performing the indicated roll, roll 1d10 and multiply the result by .01, and add the resultant amount to the result of the roll for height to get the character's final height to two decimal places. *'Weight:' This is an indication of the character's mass. Along with the character's height and physical Attributes, this little factoid helps indicate the character's overall build. Weight can be determined via the die roll indicated in the character's race profile. After performing the indicated roll, roll 1d10 and add the result to the result of the roll for weight to get the character's final overall weight. Correction to Chapter 9.3 Vehicle-scale Combat / Chapter 9.4 Capital Ship-scale Combat :Regarding Section - Combat in Asteroid Fields and Minefields Asteroids will cause an amount of damage equal to ten times the result of (5+1d5) times the craft's maximum speed (in range increments) during the round. Addendum to Chapter 3.0 (Skills) Introduction It is often the case during gameplay that a character might be called upon to do a job they really aren't cut out to do. A character may be a terrific pilot, but what happens when they're ordered to land to help assault a base? What happens when a reputed gunslinger is hopelessly outnumbered and their only way out is to negotiate? What happens when a player travelling along a road suddenly has a flat tire? If the player who created those characters didn't invest a few points in the skills needed to get them out of that respective set of jams, they could be rolling failure after failure after failure, possibly with fatal results. Players don't like to fail, and while the universe at large doesn't give a tinker's damn about that player's character, any good GM had better believe that player does. The laws of probability will dictate that even a character that is well-trained in a particular field will ultimately fail at some point. So that players are left with some other recourse than to be at the mercy of the dice, a GM has the option of using plot points during the course of an adventure or campaign. In general terms, plot points represent the most powerful creative force in the universe: artistic license - they represent a chance to change fate in a character's favor. Players receive six plot points at the beginning of a campaign, and are allowed to keep up to six plot points between gaming sessions. They may not accumulate more than twelve plots during any single gaming session; any plot points that would have been granted to a player will be lost if they're available "pool" is full - so players can and should spend them during the course of gameplay. Player groups are encouraged to use something physical to represent the current number of plot points in their respective pools - poker chips are highly recommended for this purpose but anything such as pennies, beads, spindown counters or candies are perfectly fine. Tally sheets are not recommended, nor is it recommended that players simply keep track of their current pools in their heads - with both of these methods, players will have to constantly make references to their pools during gameplay, which will detract from the storytelling and may encourage meta-game thinking. In addition to the PCs, GMs are allowed to grant plot points to any major NPCs in a campaign, including main antagonists. The GM awards plot points to players during gameplay solely at their discretion, and give them out generally as a reward for good role-playing only. The following are situations that warrant the reawarding of plot points: *'Completion of a Group Goal': If the group has a goal that they have set out to do, the completion of that goal is worth a few plot points; the more important the goal, the more points should be awarded for it. For example: a wing of Terran pilots who have been given the job of taking out a Ralari-class destroyer might each earn a plot point or two when the ship goes down in flames. If in doing so they liberate a star system from Kilrathi control, it might be worth three plot points. If they liberate the entire Vega Sector as a result of their actions, it might be worth as many as five or six. *'Completion of a Personal Goal': Characters may have set goals for themselves throughout the course of their lifetime. Such goals might include mundane things such as getting a job, paying off all of their debts or starting a business, or more grandiose things such as exacting vengeance upon a rival or finding a family member that has been kidnapped. GMs should be made aware of a character's personal goals prior to the start of gameplay; a well-developed biography of the character in question will not only help them to know that character's personal goals, but also may help to serve as a basis for a campaign or adventure. As a rule, the greater the impact of a personal goal's completion on a character's life, the more plot points it should be worth; one or two points may be merited for the completion of a short-term personal goal, while the completion of a lifelong personal goal may warrant three to five plot points. *'Completing a Challenge': Plot points may be awarded if the group makes overcomes a significant obstacle; for example, a group of Hornet pilots may earn some plot points by taking out a superior number of Hhriss fighters, especially if one of them was piloted by Drakhai. More challenging situations warrant a greater reward; in general, GMs should award two to four plot points for these challenges. *'Use of a Complication in Play': Most players as a rule would like to ignore those Complications they took so that they could boost their Marksmanship skill as high as they could conceivably get it. The potential to earn plot points may remind them that those Complications are meant to actually do something to add to a story. In general, any plot points awarded for use of complications should be limited - one to three points, perhaps, with more points awarded if the Complication that rears its ugly head is initiated by the player and/or if it becomes a central issue to the story. Plot points should not be awarded if the Complication does not put the character in direct danger or if it does not become a signifcant hindrance during gameplay. GMs may opt to award plot points to a character if the story is making that character's life particularly miserable; this should be done rarely to avoid meta-game thinking, and such points should be applied sparingly - one or two at the very most. *'General Coolness': There's certainly no harm in a GM giving out a single plot point for something that a player does that they feel is cool, for particularly good role-playing, or for responding to a situation in an unexpected but effective way. Such behavior can and should be encouraged/acknowledged. Under no circumstances is a GM allowed to grant additional plot points to an NPC that may happen to have them. It's one thing to reward the players - it's quite another for the GM to try and reward themselves... Players may use any plot points they may have to do the perform the following actions during the course of a gaming session: *'Adjust the Result of a Check': Prior to rolling a check, a player may spend a number of plot points to reduce the final result of the roll; each plot point spent in this manner reduces the result by five points. Note that reducing the result of the roll does not necessarily guarantee success. Players are allowed to Take 50 and then use plot points to reduce the result downward if they so choose. Note that in situations where the GM intends for a character to fail no matter what, players should not be allowed to spend plot points - the GM should simply hand the plot points back to the player in those cases. *'Re-roll a Check': If a player does not like the result of a given die roll, they may spend two plot points to toss out the result of that check and re-roll it. A player may continue to spend plot points on re-rolls as long as they have a sufficient number of plot points. *'Reduce injuries': When the GM announces how much damage a character has taken during combat, their controlling player may elect to spend plot points to reduce the amount of that damage. Plot points spent to reduce damage must be spent immediately; a player may not choose to try and reduce damage with plot points at a later time should they wish to change their mind. A player may spend one plot point to reduce non-lethal damage, two plot points to reduce lethal damage, and/or three plot points to reduce the number of wounds inflicted. Each set of plot points spent gives the player 1d10, which is then rolled to determine how much damage is reduced (note that it's possible with unlucky rolling for there to be no damage reduction whatsoever). Should the result of a player's roll be sufficient to eliminate a level of damage entirely, the excess may be applied to the next level down (wounds first, HP next, NHP last). *'Change the story': Players may spend plot points to change a story in small, convincing, believable and interesting ways, usually to their PC's advantage. When a player wants to do this, they simply make their suggestion to the GM and give them any number of plot points they wish, based upon how far they wish to strain everybody's suspension of disbelief. Spending plot points in this manner is always contingent upon the volition of the GM; if the GM does not like what the player has suggested, they simply hand back the plot points they were willing to spend on that plot change. In particular, plot points may not be used to change the nature of an important character or re-write a story (particularly in the middle of that story). If the GM likes the idea but didn't spend enough to gain the desired level of impact, they might take a slightly different track with the idea. GMs are welcome to play with a player's idea however they wish, even if what results is not what a player intended. *'Boost the Effect of a Talent or Variable Trait': Players may need to use plot points to gain the fullest effect of their Talents and/or Variable Traits (for example, successfully getting in touch with General Taggart while he's aboard Bannockburn in the Hari Sector may take several plot points, especially if you don't want to blow his cover). GMs are allowed to adjust the number of plot points required to fully apply a Talent, but should be gracious enough return any plot points a player may attempt to spend if the use of a Talent is disallowed in a certain situation or if the player gains no benefit through the use of a particular Talent, or when using attempting to boost a Talent that has no application to the current story. *'Enhance their Character': Should a player have plot points left over at the end of a gaming session, they may choose to spend them as general building points for their character. These points may be used in the same manner as general building points discussed in Chapter 2.3 of the WCRPG Core Rules, with a key exception - single plot points may only be spent to enhance Skill levels. To add a Talent or reduce a Complication, five plot points must be spent; this converts to a single point adjustment of a Talent or Complication. Players may spend as many plot points left in their pools as they choose (and leave themselves starting empty during the next session if they wish), but must reduce their plot point pool down to no more than six points between sessions. Note that plot points are completely optional; GMs may choose to use them or not at their own discretion. Should they choose to do so, they should continue to use them throughout the course of their current campaign. Plot points are not necessarily recommended for single adventures, though again, this is at the discretion of the GM (particularly difficult adventures may warrant the use of plot points, if for no other reason than as a means of tempering that adventure's overall difficulty). Addendum to Chapter 6.2.1 Vehicle Chassis Fighterdrone Fighterdrones are the Space Vehicle analogue to Aerodrones. They are extremely small aerospace combat vehicles, utilized either by starfaring civilizations making their initial forays into the starfaring field or by more advanced civilizations that have achieved the level of miniaturization necessary to produce such a craft. Like their larger Fightercraft cousins, Fighterdrones are among the fastest vehicles in use; many are faster than capital ships though they usually lack FTL capabilities. The extreme miniaturization of Fighterdrone systems ensure that they are very expensive craft, even more so than their fightercraft cousins. Fighterdrones are used in military units that have a need for compactness and/or can rely on remote guidance systems; they are utilized generally as unmanned reconnaissance craft and artillery spotters; they are also sometimes equipped with weaponry for use in light strike and aerial interception missions, and larger craft of this type may be utilized as full-fledged small-combat craft excelling in the role of dogfighter. Commercial and Industrial users use these craft as probes to make surveys of remote inter-planetary and inter-stellar areas. Civilian users may utilize these craft for very low-volume transportation and recreation. Fighterdrones offer Full Cover. *Default Armor: 2 cm *Maximum Armor: 4 cm *Default Engine: Sixth Class *Maximum Speed: 10,000 kph (Atmospheric) *Cost Modifier: ¤2,750.00 per Cost Point *Availability: Starfaring Age *Fighterdrones automatically have the ''Tachyon Radar accessory as part of the chassis; it does not count against the vehicle's total accessory count. Fighterdrones that have Seventh Class Engines installed may also have the Ion Engine accessory installed as part of the chassis at the discretion of the designer. Super Light and Very Light Fighterdrones automatically have the Automation Module accessory installed, which does not count against its total number of accessories; craft this size may not carry any crew under any circumstances.'' Addendum to Chapter 6.2.3 Vehicular Systems and Equipment and 7.2.2 Capital Ship Systems and Equipment The following accessories may be installed on either vehicles or capital ships to augment their abilities. Each accessory has the following set of statistics: *Name: This is what the accessory is called. *Availability: This lists at what level of technological development a species must attain in order to be able to use the accessory on their craft. *Restriction: This lists any restrictions on the types of vehicles that can use the accessory. For purposes of this chart, capital ships are considered Space Vehicles. *Cost: This lists the cost of the accessory. For Vehicles, the amount is in Cost Points; for capital ships, the amount is the same in Credits. *Effect: This indicates what the equipment does; any additional notes on it are included here. The following new Weapons Stations descriptor may be utilized by either capital ships or vehicles with a service year later than 2670: The following piece of Heavy Ordnance may be loaded aboard both vehicles and capital ships: Heavy Ordnance Addendum to Chapter 6.4 Non-Canonical Vehicles Chimaera contributed by mrmicromike Cerberus contributed by mrmicromike